Best performance/bang for buck wheels & tires?

Hey all,

I do realize that there are a ton of tire/wheel threads that expound on fuel economy but this is my Delma. I have a 2010 with stock 15" wheels and the tires are about worn to the wear bars and I'm on the fence about how to proceed. First, let me say that spending money on tires always makes me crabby. I do of course realize how important good tires are, but it's not exactly a fun purchase.

Anyway, I am trying to decide if it makes more sense to take this opportunity to buy new wheels, maybe 16" or 17" for some summer/all seasons and keep my 15" set for snow tires. I'm In Idaho, so we do see snow and some winter driving conditions, but our family, skiing car is a Lexus suv with AWD so the Prius is not likely to see major winter activity outside of commuting and driving about town.

The additional downside of a size upgrade for wheels is the increase in tire price. *sigh*. Sorry for the ramble. I guess I'm soliciting opinions on the most economical setup that will offer the least road noise, best performance and fuel economy! Heh, at least my needs are simple. Lol

 

Thanks for the reply. My thinking if I do the upgrade is that I will keep the 15" and put a set of snow tires on them this winter. This seems like the ideal time to make a change of I am going to. I do plan on keeping the car fairly long term so my continued enjoyment in driving and safety are high priorities.

I'd love to try to maximize fuel economy or at least not shoot myself in the foot, but if I can cut down some road noise that would be worth sacrificing a little. I'm in real estate and property management so I am in my call all day most days.

On a side note, I saw a post about using speaker felt inside the door cavities as a much cheaper alternative to the sound deadening products and it doing a really good job at a fraction of the cost. I'm also in the process of getting Rude person's's front and mid braces installed.

I'm a family man though so I am not looking to bling out my car or anything. Stylish sure, nice, you bet. But I'm not the kind of guy that wants to put $5,000 wheels on my Prius so people will stop in the road to drool over them.

I realize the bigger I go, the more i am going to be paying for tires... Is there still a benefit in moving just to a 16 or is it really 17 or bust?